Meet Gayle Jennings O’Byrne, Founder of Wocstar

Gayle Jennings O’Byrne is a venture capitalist who is passionate about investing in “undervalued and overlooked” communities. As the proud daughter of a tech-trailblazer mother, O’Byrne feels lucky to have grown up around role models who are women of color, and who taught her about the technological innovations of Black women. In 2018, the New York City-based entrepreneur launched Wocstar with the goal of helping business owners raise funding and grow their companies. Today, O’Byrne is proud to support a diverse range of entrepreneurs and creators who use their innovations, imaginations and experiences to build companies that do good work.

Here’s our lightly edited Q&A, from The Story Exchange 1,000+ Stories Project.

How is your business different from others in your industry?

We take a well-rounded, three-pronged approach to investing in the entrepreneurial community. It starts with restoring human dignity and seeing the wealth of potential in communities that are diverse, underrepresented, often undervalued, and generally overlooked. We see and seek the next wave of entrepreneurs that are pushing boundaries, have big ideas – and even bigger solutions. Then, we work side-by-side with them to help them succeed.

Tell us about your biggest success so far. 

That we are still striving and thriving six years in!

What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it?

Raising funding and onboarding investors, so that we can allocate that capital to more start-ups. We address this by making sure the investments we have made are successful, and returning capital to our investors. We work hard every day to help both entrepreneurs and investors win.

Have you experienced any significant personal situations that affected your business decisions? 

Surviving cancer taught me a thing or two about being courageous (and scared), taking risks, living a life of purpose, and the power of love. I bring those lessons into everything I do.

What is your biggest tip for other startup entrepreneurs? 

Don’t go it alone. You should be working with a team and regularly talking to mentors, advisors, customers, potential customers, investors and allies.

How do you find inspiration on your darkest days?

My faith in God gets me through all days, good and bad. And, the investors and entrepreneurs are why I do this work, so connecting with them each day keeps me going, too.

What is your go-to song to get motivated on tough days?

I feel like I should be picking a Taylor Swift song or a Beyonce country song, but I keep going back to Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger.” It’s just something about the words.

Who is your most important role model?

My mother, Thelma Bataille. She’s an intelligent, well-respected business woman and a trailblazer. Her business acumen, problem-solving skills and tech knowledge are incredible. I jokingly say it in passing, but really it is true: She is my go-to tech support. She nurtured my curiosity and love of reading, traveling and business.

YouTube: @Wocstar
Spotify: @Wocstar

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